Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: The little bit of nutmeg combined with the sour cream and sweet glaze makes these doughnuts taste just like the ones at your favorite bakery, if not better!Texture: Slightly crunchy on the outside, cakey and soft on the inside. All the little cracks in these doughnuts just soak up the shiny, crackled glaze.Ease: There’s no yeast in this recipe so you can have these doughnuts IN YOUR MOUTH in a little more than an hour from start to finish.Pros: I think the pros are inherently implied, they’re doughnuts!Cons: Deep fried sugary goodness ain’t too good for your diet.Would I make this again? Yes, whenever I’m craving these old-fashioned cake doughnuts I’ll whip this recipe out.

I have huge sweet tooth cravings on the regular. Can you relate?

When I get a doughnut craving, it’s intense. A lot of doughnut shops make pretty bland and greasy doughnuts that leave a weird residue on your tongue, at least that’s been my experience.

There’s a few local shops that I LOVE, but I rarely have an excuse to make a trip to one of them. This recipe honestly takes about the same amount of time that it takes to drive across town to my favorite bakery, so it’s kind of perfect. Plus, if you only eat doughnuts when you make them from scratch, you can’t really go overboard right? That’s my logic at least.

These Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts are just like the old-fashioned cake doughnuts from the bakery. They’re kind of crunchy and cracked on the outside, making those nooks just purrrrrfect for soaking up the thick, shiny, crackled glaze. We completely dunk the doughnuts in that glaze in the recipe, and it’s amazing. The inside is soft and cakey with a more firm bite than yeast doughnuts. Plus you can’t beat sour cream, it’s good with just about everything.

I don’t always prefer old-fashioned cake doughnuts to yeast doughnuts, but when I do this is absolutely the recipe I use. You can’t beat how much less time these take than yeast doughnuts, too.

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts Recipe Tips

1. Use a scale to weigh your ingredients

Using a scale is a smart idea for this recipe. Any issues I hear about the dough being too dry or sticky are likely due to inaccurate measuring! If you doughnuts aren’t as fluffy and light as you’d like, it’s due to compacting too much flour into your measuring cup. You can learn more about how to measure flour the RIGHT way here.

2. Use REAL cake flour

This is a must for the recipe. Purchased cake flour will yield light and delicate doughnuts like the ones from the bakery. DIY substitutions don’t really cut it, and AP flour will not create doughnuts with that same soft texture. You can learn more about cake flour here.

3. This recipe is FRIED

Yes, you must fry this recipe. It was specifically designed to be fried and not baked, just trust me on that.

I don’t personally own an air fryer but recently had a reader message me that she had success air-frying this recipe.

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How to make

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts

Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts are coated in glaze and taste just like the cakey ones at your favorite bakery! No yeast makes this recipe quicker and easier.

Ingredients

For the donuts:

2 1/4cup(255 grams) cake flour

1 1/2teaspoonsbaking powder

1teaspoonsalt

1/2teaspoonground nutmeg

1/2cup(100 grams) sugar

2tablespoons(29 grams) butter, at room temperature

2large egg yolks

1/2cup(113 grams) sour cream

Canola oil, for frying

For the glaze:

3 1/2cup(350 grams) powdered sugar, sifted

1 1/2teaspoonscorn syrup

1/4teaspoonsalt

1/2teaspoonvanilla extract

1/3cuphot water

Directions

For the donuts:

In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until sandy. Add the egg yolks and mix until light and thick. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, ending with the flour. The dough will be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a doughnut cutter or two differently sized biscuit cutters to cut out as many donuts as possible, dipping the cutters into flour as necessary to prevent sticking. You should get about 12 doughnuts and holes.

Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a heavy bottomed pot with a deep-fry thermometer attached. Heat to 325°F. Fry the doughnuts a few at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry on each side about 2 minutes, being careful not to let them burn. Let drain on a paper bag to soak up the excess grease.

For the glaze:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Immerse each doughnut into the glaze. Place on a wire rack above a sheet pan to catch any excess glaze. Let sit for 20 minutes until glaze is set. Doughnuts are best served the day they are made but may be store in an air tight container at room temperature for a few days.

Recipe Notes

Some readers have complained that 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg was too much. Nutmeg is a crucial flavor component to any doughnut, but if you don't like the taste reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon or omit it altogether.

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

Recipe byTessa

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

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287 Responses to “Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts”

I mean this in the most non creepy way but I am going to marry you. Old fashioned sour cream doughnuts are MY FAVORITE (in face, my hubby and I broke one in half on our wedding day, instead of cutting cake together!) and I never knew how to make them. This is life changing. Pinned!

Doughnuts aren’t normally one of my favorite desserts, but delicious homemade ones are definitely a step up from chain-store produced ones. Here in NYC, there are a few excellent doughnut producers, Dough and Dougnut Planet, that make specialty flavors and such– worth a try if you’re ever in the area and like doughnuts.

I am so excited you posted this…I went on a vacation last year and had sour cream doughnuts for the first time and was not disappointed…they were so good…but I have been stalling on making them at home for some reason yet craving them… this recipe and the gorgeous pictures makes me want to tackle the project this weekend! YUM!

That’s a good question! I haven’t tried baking this particular recipe, however I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The results would probably be quite different in texture, though. I have a few baked doughnut recipes too you may want to check out: https://www.handletheheat.com/category/donut

I shouldn’t even be looking at these, but I saw the picture in the sidebar and had to. These look so good. There should be a recipe version that makes just one lol because that’a all I’m allowed to have when I cheat. Can’t imagine a basket of these in my kitchen.

I think that should work! As long as you par-freeze the unfried doughnuts on a sheet pan until they’re solid, then place them in an airtight container, they should hold up just fine. I’d allow them to sit at room temperature for a little while before frying. Enjoy your vacation!

I will usually strain it with a really fine mesh strainer or even cheesecloth to remove all the little particles that accumulate, funnel it back into an airtight container, store in a cool dry place, and use it a handful of times more. The more particles that become introduced into the oil, the less it can be reused. Once it’s unusable again (too many particles, bad smell, etc.) just throw it away in the trash inside an airtight container. Hope that helps!

YUM!! I have a yeast doughnut recipe that we love, but I think it may be time to try something different! I love a good sour cream old fashioned. For some reason I always thought they were baked? Hmmm.
After you cut these out, do you allow any rise time? Or just fry them right away?

Looks great! Question: could the dough be made the night before and left in the refrigerator? I ask because these look great for breakfast but between the prep and chilling it looks like a good couple of hours (and I’m too lazy to wake up any earlier). Thanks in advance!

Oh really?! That’s strange. What I did was take a kind of flat fine mesh skimmer, place as many doughnuts as would fit on the mesh, then slowly dip the skimmer into the oil so the doughnuts would enter gently and so I wouldn’t get splashed with any hot oil. Then I gently removed the doughnuts with the same skimmer once they were done.

I love sour cream donuts! Those crispy outside bits and the warm cake inside- yum. I think I’m the only one in my family that like them though. I wonder if the kids would feel differently if they helped make some… I’m going to give it a go sometime this summer and see. I’ll use coconut oil for frying though. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

Omg! Recipe for my favorite donut in the whole wide world? My coworker brought donuts to work yesterday and I was the last to get in the box and I was thinking that I was going to be left with a sprinkle or a plain glazed but there was my favorite just waiting for me… Now I can make as many as I want at home! I’m sitting here trying to picture the inside of my cabinets and I think I have everything I need thanks so much!

How do you think they’d turn out if I substitute the nutmeg for cinnamon? I’m relatively partial to nutmeg but I super love cinnamon. I’ve never made doughnuts from scratch before though so figured I’d ask before simply substituting all willy nilly. I might just try making them both ways but I was just curious 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!

Hi Rod, I’m really not sure those substitutions would work independently, let alone combined. You might be able to get away with using a gluten-free cake flour (not cake mix) but the only way these will have that wonderful texture you remember is if you fry them. They will taste completely differently if you use gluten-free flour and bake them, unfortunately.

I started dipping in the glaze right after the last batch came out of the oil. I just started glazing the ones I fried first that were cool, and by the time I got to the most recent ones they were cool enough to touch.

i live in Scotland but i moved to canada for just over 3 yrs and was addicted to tim hortons sour cream donuts but have never known how to make these im soooo going to try this recipe coz they look juuuuust like them mmmmm thank you sooooo much i miss those so much….its funny the things you miss from somewhere, when i lived in canada i missed Scottish bread lol xx

My son and I made these for breakfast this morning, and they were delicious! I have been sort of afraid of frying doughnuts, and I decided it was time to get over that. thanks so much for the fantastic recipe! 🙂

Thank you Tessa for that recipe! My doughnuts where a hit but they where also very hard, i must have made an error while doing the dough. Any tip on how to make them softer? Also mine where alot more uniformed than yours although when i look at your picture of the dough, mine where pretty much the same.

Hi! It sounds like either the dough was over-worked or the oil was too cold or too hot while frying. Also as a note – this type of doughnut will be a little more “hard” than the fluffier yeast-raised kind.

Just found this today on Pinterest and am really excited to try them out! I do have a question for you though-I make doughnuts each Christmas as our traditional dessert. However, it comes at the end of a big meal that we prepare and share with our big extended family. Is this a recipe I can make earlier in the day and have ready to fry ahead of time (mixed & cut)? I have been using a yeast doughnut and the difficulty I have is remembering to get them out of the fridge to let them rise before frying! I want something equally delicious and lower maintance:)

I tried making these this weekend and the dough was SUPER sticky. I couldn’t even roll them out. Should I add more flour? And then I put them in a fryer and they sunk down and stuck to my frying basket because they were so dense and sticky. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Hmmm as mentioned in the recipe the dough is quite sticky but as you can see from that last picture it definitely shouldn’t have prevented you from rolling them out and certainly should not have been so dense. Is it possible an ingredient was incorrectly measured or left out? I had great success with this recipe and many others have too so I’m thinking something went wrong along the way for you. Better luck next time!

Hi – Thanks for this recipe – a few quick questions (that hopefully aren’t repeats from others). I tried these today and am not thrilled with my results. I want to try again.
*Do you think it’s possible to over-mix the dough?
*Once you cut your circles, do you re-roll the scraps?
*I tried mine in a small deep fryer not a pan – is that okay?
*We usually use peanut oil for frying, but I realized that you said canola. Do you think that would affect the flavor?
*Did you try to soak excess grease from both sides of the doughnut?

Will be making these PRONTO! Thanks so much for sharing! These are my husband & I favorite donut. Bless him, I just fed him one for breakfast that was left over from our Dunkin Donut stop yesterday. I can only imagine these will be soooo much better.

I just made this and put them in the fridge to chill for an hour… my question is this: the dough is SO dry it barely incorporated all the flour. Your recipe says it should be sticky. I checked and rechecked that I put everything in correctly and in the right order, etc. The only difference is I used AP flour with cornstarch to “make” cake flour. Can that really make a difference???

I thank you for posting this recipe, but it did not turn out well for me. I followed the directions to a T, but they were a major fail. For one thing, they were flat and never puffed up at all; I know they’re cake doughnuts rather than yeast doughnuts, but mine came out more like cookies than doughnuts. And I cannot blame it on rolling them out too thin because I only got 9 doughnuts out of mine, not the 12 of the recipe, so if anything, my rolling was thicker. Also, I felt they were too salty. Overall, I was very disappointed in them.

Hi! I’m sorry you had a fail. However, I am confident it is not the fault of the recipe – I have made it numerous times and so have many others (just look on Instagram!) so it would appear some troubleshooting is needed. For the flatness I can think of two things that may have caused this – expired baking powder or incorrect oil temperature. As for the saltiness did you use kosher salt? I would only use fine salt in baking.

Homemade donuts in a little over an hour! Nice simple recipe with ingredients every baker has on hand. The dough is quite sticky, even after chilling for an hour. Does need to be kneaded 5 or 6 times and then pat out the dough to cut. Yummy!

Sounds like perhaps an ingredient wasn’t measured or left out, most like though the flour was over-measured. Be sure to fluff up the flour and spoon it into your measuring cup so it doesn’t become too compacted, or better yet use a kitchen scale to ensure perfect accuracy.

In General, great pics and recipes! Those glazzy drippy sourcream doughnuts made my palate start to water. You can certainly know exactly what those are going to taste like just by looking at them…..tender crunch, delicate inside, buttery! and the perfect amount of glaze. I’d have to say, you know your consistencies. I am Professional Pastry Chef of 32 years and currently the owner of an Artisan Bread Bakery. I rarely leave comments, and know good stuff when I see it!!

Total amateur here, and the doughnuts came out looking just like the photos. I’m excited just to have made doughnuts! That said, the time quoted is a total lie – hard to believe anyone can chill the dough for an hour per the recipe and have doughnuts ready in 60 minutes. My total prep time was more like 120 min, plus an hour to chill. But I’m an amateur, and I’m sure I could be faster. I also thought the nutmeg was really strong. I would use half as much or not at all next time. I may be an amateur fryer, but I am nigh pro on doughnut eating, and I strongly disagree with the statement that nutmeg is the key flavor in a sour cream doughnut. Krispy Kreme makes my favorite sour cream doughnut, and I think theirs has no nutmeg at all.
Thanks for the recipe!

Oh my goodness! These look so good and they are my husband’s favorite type of donuts. He used to buy them at Winchell’s Donuts, but there aren’t any near to us now. I am going to make these as a “sweet surprise” for him. Thanks so much for the recipe and lovely (mouth-watering) images.

I just finished making these. I used my bagel cutter, so I only got 7 doughnuts and holes. OMG these are better than I could have imagined! They are my favorite anyhow, Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Really very simple to make and fry. Very decedent! The best I have ever had.

Hmmmm, loved the photos and the flavours were great. However, as mentioned in some of the other comments, our dough was really dry and turned out cookie-like doughnuts. My husband, who is a scientist at heart, mentioned that the difference in milling between Canadian and American flour (and perhaps other countries as well?) might be partially responsible (especially since he is meticulous about measuring)… Apparently Canadian flour is a finer texture and usually needs more liquids compared to American flour. We tried several different temps (between 325 – 350) and different lengths on each side but didn’t get the fluffy looking doughnuts that I was craving…. more experimenting to follow…

How disappointing. These were horrible. The doughnuts fell apart in the oil or else burned on the outside while still gooey inside. And the salvageable doughnuts were dense with an overpowering taste of nutmeg. What a waste of my cake flour. 🙁

These were incredible. The outside made for a beautiful crunch that gave way to a delicious, cakey texture. The glaze was perfect. I added a little lemon juice to add a new flavor to the mix and it turned out great. I’ll definitely be making these again, thanks for the recipe!

I had high hopes for these. I love donuts and make them for my family every weekend. I made these exactly as written and could only eat one. The nutmeg flavor really threw me off. It tasted like I took a pepper shaker and emptied it on my donut. I think I’ll stick to my cake donuts for now on.

I just ate waaaay too many of these doughnuts. They are amazing! Both the flavor and texture are just perfect. I only wish I had seen your reply in the comments about cutter size before I made mine. I knew they’d rise during frying, but I drastically underestimated how much! I should have realized this when I only got 7 doughnuts from my batch. Anyway, they puffed up and pushed each other around the pot, breaking my beautiful doughnuts into pieces. Oh, but what delicious pieces they were! I will definitely make these again, using a smaller cutter.

Sorry about your coupon fiasco. I am one of those “coupon guru” people, so yes, i do love my coupons. But I sometimes still run into scenarios like yours too, even though I’m used to using them.

And this recipe? I LOVE old fashioned sour cream doughnuts but have yet to make doughnuts of any kind. I’m hoping to convince my mother-in-law to do a doughnut making day sometime soon though (she makes doughnuts semi-frequently) where we can try these babies out!

I made these sour cream donuts today and they didn’t turn out very good. I found them to be heavy and dense. The only way i altered the recipe is in the flour. I didn’t have cake flour so i looked online and found a way to make cake flour by removing 1 TBSP flour per cup and exchanging it with cornstarch. Would that make the donuts dense and heavy?

Yes, cake flour is made to be lower in protein content than all-purpose flour and that is not something cornstarch can affect. The lower protein content leads to less gluten development which results in a light and tender texture. Always use regular packaged cake flour!

I’m so excited to make these! I looked for this recipe about 5 years ago when my family first moved overseas, but to no avail. Now I can’t wait to taste them again! Was wondering if you have a recipe for the chocolate frosted old fashioned donuts. Those were always my favorite. Though the glazed ones sound great too.

looking so forward to trying these i have always been a baker my freezer is always full but for some reason i never eat my own baking but i hear it is better than a bakery, my kids are prejudiced, when i do bake i usually try and pawn some off on my parents and neighbour, donuts are something i make regular;y but just regular cake donuts, i need to try these, have you ever tried to make crulers? if so do you have a recipe?

Great recipe! Just made these this morning–wonderful texture and taste. I ended up doubling the dough for about 27 3″ donuts. One batch of glaze was enough for all of them. I mixed and cut the dough the night before (I did re-roll the scraps), covered and refrigerated overnight, and spent only 45 minutes this morning frying and glazing everything once the oil was hot enough. Yummy!

Hey ,
this recipe is very good , amazing ^^ !
but i had some trouble with the dough will be too most sticky… and when i was trying to make Doughnuts, it was impossible …
do you have advice to improve this recipe ?
thank a lot !

So I made these today, rainy Belgian summer day – nice, but still a baking day nonetheless. Anyhow, last donut recipe I tried failed miserably and I just was sick of them but decided to try yours out as I’ve been in search of something that would resemble my grandfather’s recipe… not quite his but definitely LOVED them. I didn’t have sour cream so I used greek yoghurt instead but they came out quite nice, the nutmeg is spot on, used chocolate and sprinkles instead of the glaze. My boyfriend and his best friend ate them in no time (seriously, no time). Also have a tip here, if you insert your finger nail through the middles you will get cute small doughnuts as well… just saying, for those small fingers at home (I have none but i love small food, it just looks too cute!). Thanks, will be definitely making these again.

Some notes:
ALWAYS weigh your flour. Even if it is the only ingredient you ever weigh, your results will be more consistent. Most too dry/too sticky complaints can be attributed to this. (A scale is a cheap, absolutely necessary investment for any baker, amateur or otherwise.)
When using recipes from country to country, a quick google search goes a long way to insure compatibility when substituting ingredients.
In this recipe specifically, I used cold butter chopped into small pieces and mixed with the granulated sugar on LOW to achieve a sandy texture. Butter temperature can affect final dough consistency. We are not creaming this butter and sugar, so I found cold worked best.
I also used cold egg yolks and beat the mixture on MEDIUM for 4-5 mins until light in color and doubled in volume.
I did substitute 1/2 yogurt (1/4c sour cream, 1/4c yogurt) since I did not have enough sour cream.
When adding in wet/dry ingredients to egg mixture, beat on LOW until ingredients are just combined. After the final third of flour is added, beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and begins to form a ball, then stop mixing and scrape down the mixing bowl to further combine any ingredients from the high sides of the bowl. Do not overmix your dough!
And as for frying, always make sure your oil is hot enough. Thermometers and scales, people!!

I’m sorry to report I tried your recipe this past weekend as I love sour cream doughnuts and it was an epic fail. I followed your instructions to the letter but the doughnuts fell apart almost as soon as they hit the hot canola oil and none were salvageable enough to eat. I will just have to buy them from my local doughnut shop 🙂

Hey Sarah! No, cake flour works best here. If you use all-purpose your doughnuts may wind up dry and dense. I’m assuming you meant frying not crying 😉 I’ve never baked this recipe but I’d imagine much of the delicious texture would be sacrificed if baked so I wouldn’t try personally.

Hi, I came across this post on Pinterest. I don’t usually read food blogs, maybe cause I am a professional chef and my ego won’t allow me to read what many people may have to write about food or reviews that may or may not be other than a personal opinion of something they may or may not like. However, I really loved your your style and I will publically admit that I did try your recipe and it’s way better than anything I have attempted. I am truely impressed and will be reading and following your blog. If you will allow me, I would like t make these doughnuts for my cafe.

I made these today. I followed the recipe exactly except that I kept the dough in fridge for 2 days before rolling and frying. Everyone seems to be enjoying them, I think the two days in the fridge did dry the dough out a little bit. We are going to make them again and this time I’ll substitute a little bit of lemon juice for water in the glaze and add a bit of zest. Then next time, maybe orange. Then maybe some cinnamon in the dough instead of nutmeg….

I love the recipe and sour cream doughnuts always been my favorite.
I noticed in the picture that some of the doughnuts in the second row that are out of focus are missing some cracks on the surface. Is there any tips on how to get cracked surface just like the sour cream doughnuts you find at the store? Thank you!

Thank you! The cracks mostly depend on the temperature of your oil. When it’s at the perfect temperature the cracks should occur. Unfortunately unless you have an electric fryer, it’s pretty difficult to maintain perfect oil temperature while frying multiple batches.

I will add that I used to own donut shops and these donuts look great with a great recipe. If you want more cracks in your donuts here is the way. Use cool ingredients (not below 65 though) and after you put them in oil flip them after 15 seconds let them cook (usually about 90 second) and back again for the remaining 1 min 15 sec. I would also cook them at 375 to reduce the oil consumption. This is how we always did it and they cracked wide open. Glaze them while warm (not hot) and the glaze will bond better with the donut and not flake off as much.

So, is it possible to bake these bad-boys? Or if not, would the new air fryers work on this recipe? These look amazing. And, I was wondering, how did you set up the photos with so much natural light and then suddenly a dark background? Just my curiosity at work there. 😉 Gorgeouspics. Thanks for the recipe!

Ehhh I’d be hesitant about baking, the texture definitely wouldn’t be quite as mouthwatering. And I’ve never used an air fryer so I’m not sure! Thanks for your note about the photos 🙂 I believe I actually blocked the light in the background with black poster board so only the doughnuts were getting hit with light. Hope that helps!

By the dates in the comments section, looks like it’s been a while since this recipe has surfaced but it has via my Facebook page and so I want to say thanks. I’m an old hand at donut making and I was highly praised for my ability to make the best Old Fashion’s but, that was in a bakery not at home. I’m now poised to once again don that crown thanks to you ! The fact that these contain sour cream and fresh grated nutmeg reveals to me just how they will taste and I’m anxious to get going tomorrow and make a batch ( actually a double batch), I have people waiting ! I was even prodded into replenishing my supply of whole nutmeg. I’ll let ya know how they come out, thanks again 🙂

I made these over the weekend and they turned out really wonderful. I’ll be trying the chocolate old fashioned donut recipe soon. I did have to add an extra large spoonful of sourcream to the dough because it was very dry/sandy. I noticed that your chocolate donut recipe is very similar except that the sour cream in that one calls for 1 cup instead of the 1/2 cup that this recipe calls for. Could that be the reason that some people have issues with dry dough? Thank you for a lovely recipe.

Have you considered trying a gluten-free version? I plan on attempting just that! My girlfriend absolutely loves these doughnuts, but she has given them up due to my new eating lifestyle. (I have stroke-like migraines, and gluten is a main trigger for me.) So, I would love to find a way for her to continue being supportive and have her doughnuts, too!

Thanks for the recipe! I made them this morning and they were delish! The only adjustment I made was using a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg and adding about 1/2 tsp of grated lemon zest. I think next time (there will definitely be a next time) I will roll them thicker so I get more of the cakey texture in the middle. Thanks again. 🙂

Thanks for sharing this recipe. Just what I was looking for! This has always been a family favorite. We’ll make them over and over again. We made them in “stick” form instead of traditional round doughnuts. It was so easy! Just rolled out the dough to the correct thickness and cut them in long rectangles using a pizza cutter. They come out looking just like the ones you get in the bakery!

i cannot believew all your wonderful recipes! i am 73 and i would like to have your recipes sent by email. when i filled out your form for this it said to click on the mail link you just sent me. now i am confused. i very much would like your recipes sent throuh my email!!! thank you so much. jeanette

Everyone really should use fresh nutmeg instead of the ground stuff. It last forever, you need less which makes it really cheap plus the taste is fantastic!! I eyeball instead of measuring but feel free to measure!! BTW nutmeg is fantastic in tomato sauces!!

I made these after being inspired by a Tasty or Buzzfeed video on FB. I thought to mysef these are soo simple to make and the ingredients are common in households. Googled a recipe and ur website was the first. I followed the recipe to a t cept for subbing maple syrup in the glazeand my friends loved them! Check out my video on ig @classykasse

This recipe look delicious! I have always wanted to make my own doughnuts so I think I might give this one a shot. However, if I butcher this, I will have to buy myself some doughnuts because I’m craving them right now! Thanks for the post!

These were really good and easy to make! They were probably the best old fashioned donuts ive had! The only thing I would change is change the salt to 3/4 tsp. Also not sure why there is salt in the glaze (I left it out). I also double glazed the donuts and they can out delicious!

ok, you really have to stop publishing your recipes. Just kidding. I want to make everything. All your recipes I’ve seen so far look so delicious,my husband and I are going to big as a house.Don’t stop,keep up the good work!!

First attempt at these today, and they are awesome.. I did use all purpose flour with cornstarch, as some have had problems, but I whisked mine quite a bit to ensure the cornstarch was incorporated correctly, and to lighten the flour. I refrigerated as instructed. The dough was very stick, but proper flour on the counter solved that quickly. The first couple didn’t crackle like I wanted, but the rest did just fine. They are divine!!! My family better come home soon so I eat the entire batch. Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try the chocolate ones!!

I made the doughnuts last night. They turned out fine, very tasty. The only tweak needed is no salt in the glaze and less in the doughnut mix plus the glaze was too thick. I ended up adding in more hot water but it was still too thick. I think next time much more water as I prefer a lighter coating of icing I ended up with a proper iced doughnut which tasted too sweet.

I loved the recipe and the idea of no yeast but still perfect tasty soft doughnuts !

I’ve decided to give it a try in spite of the contradictions surrounding actual cake flour verses homemade cake flour. Im using store bought cake flour to be on the safe side and next time I will use homemade cake flour so I can see if theres a difference myself. I have the dough in the fridge just waiting to be made into doughnuts. I’d like to help those who have the problem with it coming out too dry? Mine came out perfect. I do believe the problem with the dryness is attributed to pushing the measuring cup down into the flour to get a cup. This will cause you to have way more flour in the recipe as it gets packed down as you scoop it. You have to hold your measuring cup, spoon it directly into the measuring cup and then level it off. This way you are sure to get an exact cup and nothing more. Then it will come out perfect. try it, you’ll see. I’ll be back with my results after frying. I have the oil in the pan with the thermometer attached just waiting to go…..

Im back ! and they turned out perfect ! Exactly like the photo. I did notice something though. I had it at a perfect 325 degrees and they didn’t seem to cook too well so they cooked nicely at 375 to 400. So don’t feel intimidated ladies. It a wonderful recipe. Please don’t forget to scoop your flour into the measuring cup with a spoon then level off….you’ll have the perfect dough.. I got 11 doughnuts and 11 holes….absolutely yummy. Happy cooking 🙂

One more helpful hint. For those claiming the glaze is too thick ? Don’t add milk or additional water. That will cause it not to set or dry properly on the doughnut. Simply put your glaze mixture in the microwave for about 35 seconds. Get it nice and hot and runny………then dip your donuts . Then it will harden perfectly ! Hope this helps someone out there.

I am not sure if someone else asked this question already, but I am wondering if I can possibly make the dough the night before and then roll it out the next morning and continue with the recipe. Thank you!

Finally purchased a deep-fry thermometer and gave these puppies a go! Having never deep fried anything before, I was surprised at how simple it was! The donuts came out great. Corn syrup isn’t available here, so I added a teaspoon of maple syrup instead for a different flavor; it worked quite nicely. I used freshly grated nutmeg, so I found that aspect of the flavor a little intense, but when I tried a leftover donut the next day, the nutmeg had mellowed and they were perfect! Looking forward to trying the chocolate ones next.

also, maybe my math is off but…you said you had a 10 dollar off coupon for spending 50 dollars.. now your sum was 45 …my thoughts are grab a magazine or some extras that are around the counter that would add to 5 and you not only got those for free but 5 dollars off from your original purchase… oh well have a good day ..xx

When frying the dough is impossible to turn over. I ended up with minced dough. Threw the remaining dough away, but the fried minced dough did taste good however, (I used cinnamon in place of the nutmeg).

Why spend $5 to save $10? I don’t understand the logic here. If you’d have spent $5 more dollars you’d have received $5 more worth of goods (even if it was just a couple packs of gum) and your order would’ve then been $40 instead of $45. Why would you NOT do that?

Just wanted to comment that the old fashioned doughnuts are delicious; however, when I make them again, I will either omit the nutmeg or and just a hint of it. In my opinion, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg is too much – taste too nutmeggy.

Followed old Fashion sour cream to a T. They came out great. I rolled my dough out between two 1/2″ wooden dowles to make sure 1/2 ” thick. I only came out with 5 dounuts and doughnut holes. using ur recommended 3″ doughnut cutter from Amazon. I used all purpose flour subtracted 1 tablespoon an add 1 tablespoon corn starch per cup to make cake flour. I measured in grams. Probably just as well it only came out to 5. Even the wife, who is not a sweet eater raided them

Hi Tessa! Thamks for the recipe! I’m looking for the perfect recipe and this have a delicious flavor!… but i find it too sweet… do you have a recomendation for reduce it? What if i put 1 tablespoon vs 1/2 cup of sugar on the mix? 😀

I was watching a donut cook off on the food channel and started wanting one, bad! I found your recipe, and although I don’t have the proper equipment and have never made donuts before, they turned out WONDERFUL! Without an oil thermometer it was difficult to get the temp just right (I Googled how) so a couple fell apart, and my glaze was more like icing, but delicious. Also, I accidently put double the salt in the glaze, but it offset the sweetness a bit and I liked it. Made 12 using a drinking glass for the cutter and cut the holes with a small-mouth shot glass. Thanks for sharing! I’m going to go eat another one now!

I woke up before the sun this morning, craving some kind of fried dough, any kind would do, uuugghhhhh.
I have two questions. #1, Canada this recipe be used for the old fashioned donut sticks? And #2, Since it has to rest anyway, can this be made and left in the refrigerator over night?

I just wanted to tell you I absolutelylove these donuts. I never took on a donut recipe afraid I’d fail but this recipe was simple and I have it mastered. I am sharing it on my blog and will include you in the tag on instagram. Great recipe, can’t wait to try more of your recipes. 🙂

Anyone else have a problem with the dough being too delicate to move? I couldn’t barely get the most in the fryer without them break, and getting them out was impossible. (Yes I used a spider) I did use heart-shaped cutters because I still hadn’t them out. (About 4.5″)

I made these tonight and they were amazing. I used all purpose flour and corn starch to get the cake flour (sifted a couple of times before adding other ingredients). I left out the nutmeg since I’m not really a fan of the flavor. I had some chopped up ginger that was slightly candied and I rolled some up the dough- so stinking good. They have an amazing texture- slightly crunchy on the outside but melt in your mouth. I wish these weren’t so easy to make!!!

Made these, was able to get 10 out of recipe only, no wasted dough. The thickness wasn’t even 1/2, a bit less. Used cocktail shaker cover to make the cuts, worked great. 1/2 tsp nutmeg is a bit much unless you are nutmeg lover. Will try 1/4 next time. Overall nut a bad recipe. I haven’t glazed them yet. Will sub maple syrup for corn syrup (don’t have it).

Imade these this weekend they were good but I don’t think I kneeded the dough long enough when do you know you have kneeded it enough?
I know now not to use reg veg oil to fry them they were a tad bit greasy
Thanks

Made these tonight and they are fantastic! Used a 3″ cutter and 1″ hole, and rolled a bit thinner than the recipe calls for, because we wanted them smallish. Also added extra fresh nutmeg (heaped tap) as I love the flavor. Perfection!

Hi! was really excited about these donuts and I attempted to make them tonight. the only difference is that i used gluten free cake flour. I used a thermostat to make sure the oil was at the right temperature. when i dropped them in the oil, it disintegrated completely. any idea how to improve?

I’ve been looking for an old fashioned cake donut recipe for such a long time and this one seems great! I have a question though, it seems half the recipes I find use sour cream and the other half uses buttermilk, what’s the difference between the two? Thanks!

When I am able to make these I am worried a bit about excess. It is just me and my hubby. Has anyone had success freezing the cut out dough for frying later? I have done this with New Orleans beighnets with great success. But, a cake batter style leaves me wondering. Thanks so much and can’t wait to try, loads of positive feedback here!

I´d lick your doughnut hole for this Old fashioned Sour Cream doughnuts are the best and some of my all time favourite doughnuts, thanks Tessa. I am a certified Pastry Chef in Ecuador, but they never taught us how to make these delicious items.

Wanted to find a yeast-free doughnut recipe, so I could make these before work on my husband’s Birthday (his special request). He absolutely loved these. I made the dough the night before and refrigerated overnight; they came out beautifully!!

Wow! I made these and they were super yummy! I put them in a mini doughnut baker thing and they were good, but the batter is just so thick iIwas having trouble, so added a couple more spoonfuls of sourcream and a bunch if milk to make it a more pour/spoonable consistency. Thinking on it, the thick ones probably tasted better and I also need more patience in letting them cook.. Definitely trying it again!

We have a severe egg allergy with my 2 year old granddaughter. What could I substitute for the two egg yolks? She loves donuts, but have a hard time finding anything besides glazed Krispy Kreme for her to have. Thanks!

I know you have years of positive reviews on this recipe, but I’m going to submit one more nonetheless. I’ve made these three times now and they’ve turned out beautifully every time! Simple ingredients and easy to make. I don’t usually have cake flour on hand, so I used all purpose and cut down the amount by two tablespoons. Also, I think the amount of nutmeg is spot on. I made these the first time with half the amount called for and I really do think they’re better with 1/2 tsp. It gives them that special something and doesn’t overpower at all. I hope others are not discouraged from using it based on the reviews. Thanks for the recipe!

Made these beauties yesterday and my daughters best friend said they tasted just like tom hortons donuts they use to make sandwiches. Coming from her that’s a huge compliment. My donuts did not have the nooks and crannies that I want. I think cold dough needs to hit hot oil so after I cut them I am going to fridge them until the oils hot. Great recipe. Should the donuts be hot when you frost them?

FYI, the recipe is showing up twice on the page, separated by an add for your secret glazes. The summary in both copies of the recipe say 1 hour total, with 20 minutes inactive time. The text of the recipe (both times) say to chill the dough for an hour.

And, where in Phoenix do they make decent donuts? I’m in the valley, too, but haven’t found any.

Wow !!! My first attempt at any kind of donut. Turned out fabulous. I used my fryer pot mainly for temperature control. Golden bites of yummy. Hubby loved them. Glaze was the “icing on the cake” er donut !! Great recipe thanks so much, a keeper for sure 5 stars

I printed this recipe from your website it’s on my fridge with important baby family photos. My kids and I loe them. My favorite part is that’s i can make dough Friday night and Saturday morning I don’t have to wait an hour for the day dough to be ready.

I absolutely LOVE the recipe, it comes out amazing every time! This time I needed to make only half a batch of the doughnuts so I halved all the ingredients but accidentally forgot and still added 2 egg yolks instead of one…do you think that will affect the overall texture/taste of the doughnut? If you still reply to comments in this post, please I would like to know as soon as possible ty! 🙂

Love your site ! I tried this recipe and it’s yummm! I changed a few few things-reduced the nutmeg to 1/4 , added Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream since I didn’t have-any at home , also reduced the glace to 1/2 the quantity. Got a baker’s dozen Thanks gor sharing! Also, could you chk if the page takes a long time to upload?

These turned out so tender and delicious! I used two wooden spatulas to flip the donuts over. The dough was sticky but after the hour chill turned out to be soft and kind of silky. I did the DIY cake flour thing but used White Lily flour instead of my regular King Arthur all-purpose flour. (It was actually WL self-rising flour but I had it for so long the leavener was flat so used the listed amount of baking powder and adjusted the salt.). Compared to King Arthur, White Lily has a lower protein level to begin with so I think that’s why I didn’t have the issues others had with the dough being too sticky/heavy. This website shows why Tessa says it is important to use a cake flour and why your DIY cake flour may have different results. https://www.chowhound.com/post/substitute-white-lily-ap-flour-980906

I saw this recipe and ‘total time one hour’ and thought ‘perfect! I’ll have time to make these before the kids get up!’
Started in on the recipe and got halfway through and got to the step that says ‘chill for one hour’.
Needless to say, this messed up my timeline. That hour to chill should be included in the ‘total time’ at the start of the recipe!

For anyone trying to make this recipe gf: made these today with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour and they were waaaaay too dense. The BF and I agreed that the flavor was spot on though and the glaze was awesome. Will try these again w a diff GF blend. I’ve had success w Cup4Cup before so planning to try that.

These look amazing! I just made glazed apple cider donuts and used sour cream for the first time last week. They tasted amazing. I don’t know what the sour cream does but I love it. I can’t wait to try your recipe! I made mine in oil and in my air fryer. They worked in an air fryer but tasted better fried in oil!

My son is allergic to eggs, and I have had great success with many eggless recipes. I’ve yet to perfect a doughnut recipe, however. What would you best recommend in replacement of the two yolks in this recipe? I usually use Ener-G egg replacer when I make chocolate chip cookies (I simply use Nestle’s Island White recipe, as Ener-G works best when replacing a single egg – I’ll double and triple at times, but by making each second/third batch separately – does not work well when fully incorporated in a single bowl). Do you believe the Ener-G might work well here? Thanks! Just made your basic buttercream last night- my new favorite, and so incredibly simple!

I made this when my then boyfriend and I were living overseas and therefore didn’t have access to a donut shop! I think this may be why he proposed. 🙂 He STILL talks about “that time I made him donuts from scratch” four years later!!!

Soooo 277 posts and they are all just expressing their love and admiration for sour cream doughnuts and experiences with them, would NEV nice if maybe ONE SINGLE POST WAS FROM SOMEONE THAT TRIED THE RECIPE AND CAN COMMENT ON HOW THEY ARE. These posts are completely worthless. Also why would u rate this recipe when u HAVENT EVEN TRIED IT? Ever hear the term, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover?”

@Prescia I just air fried this recipe. I spritzed donuts with spray canola oil and then 5 minutes at about 325. Now, this is in a Cuisinart Toaster Oven/Air Fryer but I followed some Phillips Air Fry suggestion for temp and time and checked them every 2 minutes as my Air Fryer seems to run hot. At any rate, they did well. They are not as puffy and crispy as deep fat fried and the exterior is smooth vs craggy, but they are very good. Bottomline, not exactly what I think of when I think of an “Old fashioned”, but very good flavor and texture as far as I’m concerned. A caveat(s) re what I did though for ingredients. I did not have cake flour and did the cornstarch substitute for 2 T flour per cup of flour and then the dough seemed a little dry so I added some half and half until it came together. I still think if the recipe was made exactly, the air frying as above would be fine.

So excited to try this recipe but I knew better……the flour to “wet ingredient” ratio didn’t even look right on paper. But, I decided to give it a go anyway.

I was right—not nearly enough “wet” ingredients and the best I could get was “thick” flour. This was in NO WAY shape or form dough. I added a small container of vanilla yogurt (was out of sour cream) and still not dough consistency. I added ANOTHER 1/2 cup of half and half (cream) and it was finally a sticky dough. This was NOT a measuring problem if I had to add that much liquid.

I also let the “mixture” rest an hour and then there was no way that sticky ball was rolling out easily. I added flour to the rolling surface and cut them out.

Oil heated per directions and they broke into bits in the fryer. Maybe not anyone’s fault since I had to improvise so much with the recipe.

Second cutting of donuts, I made them thicker–much thicker–more between 1/2 and 3/4 inch. Ridiculous. They did fry up nicely and didn’t break apart. The taste was meh.

I will look around for a better recipe but beware that this recipe does not have a proper dry-to-wet ingredient ratio.

@Um…No Well, I beg to differ as I had a good experience AND it is not exactly a unique recipe as this ratio is other places as well. I did add a bit of half and half, BUT I had messed with flour so was not surprised. I air fried this recipe – great. I also cut and froze and then air fried, also deep fat fried after freezing. All were successful for me. I wonder if you (@Um…No) weighed ingredients or used volume. At any rate, this is a keeper for me.

I am just 1 person in my house so I was VERY pleased to discover that both storing the dough and freezing cut donuts and then frying worked very well. Deep fat frying is certainly more like a bakery old fashioned but the air fry results were close enough for me and much less mess and time.

This recipe is a resounding NO for me. I have fried many a donut, including yeast raised and buttermilk with success, but this is by far THE ABSOLUTE WORST I have ever tried. They came out way too dark…almost burnt, and I even started with a 300 degree frying temp just in case 325 was too high. I refrigerated the dough as indicated, rolled it out and cut it, but when I put them in the oil to fry, almost half of them fell apart before I could even turn them!! I made the glaze before frying the donuts, with the hopes that the poster of this recipe was telling the truth about the flavor, and she was lying. It tastes NOTHING like a bakery glaze…it tastes like a homemade glaze that is a favorite of the maker. I wish I had something positive to say about this “recipe”, but alas, I do not.

Cake flour is not cheap…neither is real vanilla extract, so if you value your hard-earned money, DO NOT try this recipe. It’s a waste of time and money.

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